Apparently, I collect Bibles. I didn’t know this about myself until a few months ago when I was cleaning out my bookshelves. There are several translations from New King James to The Message. Topical, chronological and action Bibles. And of course, because I’ve devoted my life to children, I have the Jesus Storybook Bible.
I don’t know why it was a surprise to me that I owned so many. I do love the Word of God and exploring different versions. It helps me to better understand and remember it if I read it in different translations.
Having the realization that I have literally a whole shelf at my house (we’re not gonna talk about what’s at my office) devoted to Bibles, I was hesitant to be a part of reviewing a free copy of the NIV Verse Mapping Bible because do I really need one more? But, I was intrigued by the idea of verse mapping, so I took the plunge.
Let me say that at first I was a little disappointed because to me the term “Verse Mapping” invokes an idea of tieing certain verses of the Bible to other verses. It’s one long story, after all. I fully expected to learn ways that words in the Old Testament book of Isaiah were also breathed in the New Testament book of Matthew, for example. But that is not the case at all.
Verse mapping, I have learned, is the concept of writing out a certain Bible verse and then breaking it down. It’s another means of digging deeper by learning the Hebrew and Greek of certain key words, which I do find extremely valuable. It also encourages deeper study by way of using a concordance, and we won’t talk about how many of those I own.
The Verse Mapping Bible makes all of that much simpler by providing pre-formed sections for the reader to more easily organize their thoughts and study. Each section has five sub sections. One for the verse, one for other translations of that verse (helps eliminate all those translations on my shelf), one for the Greek and Hebrew translations and where to find in the concordance. And then two more sections for you to freely write (yes, write) in what you observe is happening in the verse and what you feel God is speaking to or teaching you with that verse and how you plan to apply it.
It’s kinda like a study Bible that you have to actually show your work in. And I do love that because I do love to write in my Bibles. There are even margins for you to add your own notes in on each page. Loving that feature! I like to date my entries so I can go back later and see how God brought me, taught me or held me during that time.
I would personally need to head over and use the journal for this, since 46:10 is not pre-outlined.
Loving these margins though! Lots of room to write!
But what if I run out of verse mapping pages in my Bible, or I want to map a verse that isn’t already set aside? Ask and ye shall receive, my friends! There’s a Verse Mapping Journal for all my fellow journaling junkies. It has over 100 pages for you to journal and map your verses and record what God is teaching you. I’m kind of a journal snob and like a leather cover or a more compact feel so I can easily tuck it in my purse and go. This journal is not purse friendly. But, I do love that it will lay flat because it is spiral bound.
I also recieved a Verse Mapping Bible for Girls in exchange for my review and I’ve thoroughly looked it over to see how it differs from the “adult” version. And really it’s just a different color and has a different graphic design around the page edges. I had originally thought it would be more for a pre-teen, but any adult would be happy with this version of the Bible if they like to take notes and dig.
Overall, I really like these materials and will surely use the journal in addition to my new Bible. Anyone looking to dig and work through verses and deepen their Bible knowledge would appreciate these versions.
I received all of these materials for my fair and honest review because I am a member of the Bible Gateway Blogger Grid and a #BibleGatewayPartner.
You can purchase any of these materials by following these links to the FaithGateway Store:
Verse Mapping Bible Study Journal
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